Absolutely beautiful. Thank you to all involved in producing this gift for us followers of Krista Tippett. And it looks like you're the one who should take a bow Trent ! It's only the superb kind of stuff that we have come to associate with On Being. Happy Christ mas.

I'm a fundamentalist and I/we don't supress music. We sing all the time, and I find this beautiful. In fact one of my earliest memories is of walking down the aisle at my church as a child, in candlelight and singing O come O come Emmanuel. And you're right. It's not about religion. Its about having a relationship with God who loves you. Merry Christmas!

From the comments on the Piano Guys FB page, it looks to be a movie set in Goshen, UT. The set was built for a movie the mormon church was making. And, since the Piano Guys are mormons, no surprises there.

Thanks for featuring this. Will have to show it to my boys. My 9 year old (plays piano) and 12 year old (plays viola) are big fans of these guys. Even though the boys are not allowed to indulge in any media during the week, I let them watch The Piano guys videos on YouTube couple times every once in a while. :)

The church setting, the arrangement with the beautiful obligatos, the perfect performance make this a spine-tingling listening experience. The manner in which the simple song is developed make me wish it were available for purchase. If it is please let
me know!

I love this hymn, too! But the traditional words can create obstacles for those of us who are trying to be in thoughtful dialogue in the Jewish and Christian communities. The Center for Christian Jewish Learning at Boston College has a lovely reworking of the lyrics that is much better. You can download it for free here: http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/education/O_come_Emmanuel.pdf

What a beautiful expression of the longing in each human heart for the Love and Joy that only God can give. And the location - amazing! Austere, ancient suggests Rome or Jerusalem. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, this is a beautiful gift to Our Lady.

So hauntingly lovely. This arrangement seems to me to contain not only the Christian longing for the Messiah's return but that ancient Jewish longing for the coming of the Messiah as well. When music is properly arranged, it truly can speak -- words are not even necessary. What a blessing this is -- what better way for me to begin the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

At first I was singing the lyrics in my head but then became lost in the music. The musicians are absolutely brill and have done a magical version Peponi/Paradise (should be on YouTube). What a stirring piece of music and it made me weepy like all Christmas carols should!

Like the line in the song says... Rejoice, rejoice! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

I am an atheist (formerly catholic), and a pianist myself. I have tears in my eyes as I listen to this duet . Music transcends all belief systems, and is an emotional experience that everyone around the planet can share.

Christmas to me means loving and giving. Being humble and patient with those who might irritate me. God bless all. May this year be the year of peace and reconciliation. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones AND a Happy New Year.

Christmas is a time for Love, Compassion, Thoughtfulness, Renewal of the Spirit and Peace. It is very hard now days to see all this at one sighting. I however, try to do my best to see this strangers but it's getting harder each year. How the heck did it get to be this wrong?

How spectacular was that? I watched in the week between Christmas and New Year's - a perfect coda to the year. A perfect start start to the next. At times my brain told me I was hearing an orchestra while my eyes confirmed there were just the two playing. Ahhhhh. Thank you for posting this.

This outstanding cmaiplotion contains some of Ludwig van Beethoven's lesser known chamber music masterpieces. In his lifetime, Beethoven composed 5 cello sonatas and three sets of variations for cello and piano. Pianist Sviatoslav Richter and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, two of the great Russian masters of their instruments in the 20th century, give brilliant performances of the cello sonatas. Richter's and Rostropovich's enjoyment of the music and each other is readily evident. They make a superb team throughout, catching every mood and nuance of each sonata.Beethoven based two of the variation sets on Mozart's Magic Flute, and the third set on Georg Fridrich Handel's Judas Maccabeus. Jean Francaix (pianist) and Maurice Gendron (cellist) are equally brilliant in their performances of these cello and piano variations. As always with Philips Duo releases, sound quality is absolutely first class. Lovers of Beethoven's music (especially his chamber works) will find this 2-CD set an essential addition to their collection.